According to reports from CNBC TV18, venture capital firm Accel is preparing for more public market debuts, including fitness platform Cult.fit, following a string of successful exits this year. The firm's recent success includes the stellar market debut of portfolio company Moneyview, which listed at a 60% premium with the stock opening at ₹55 against an issue price of ₹34 and sustaining a 70% gain on its first day. The initial public offering raised over ₹1,000 crore through a mix of fresh issue and offer for sale (OFS). Despite participating in the OFS, Accel India remains the dominant shareholder with a near 70% stake.
As reported by CNBC TV18, Subrata Mitra, Partner at Accel, explained that the firm is directing fresh capital toward artificial intelligence (AI), deep tech and defence tech sectors. The strategy update follows the strong post-listing performance from BlueStone Jewellery and Lifestyle and Rentomojo this year. The pipeline for upcoming public offerings includes Cult.fit, which could list before the end of the calendar year, as well as FabHotels. Internationally, the firm is anticipating a liquidity event for US-based AI startup Anthropic, having participated in its last four funding rounds.
According to CNBC TV18, Mitra highlighted that artificial intelligence remains a highly lucrative area globally, with the firm actively advising founders to integrate AI into their operations and go-to-market strategies to accelerate growth. "I almost believe that any business today will at least become more efficient by the use of AI," Mitra noted. The firm's approach to AI deployment focuses on making businesses more efficient rather than targeting specific return on investment metrics.
As reported by CNBC TV18, the decision to go public is not driven by a specific return on investment target. Instead, the firm evaluates year-on-year expansion, bottom-line growth outpacing top-line revenue, technology efficiency and overall scale. Mitra explained that "we prefer being in a liquid environment as opposed to continue to be a private holder," noting that the firm had backed Moneyview at the idea stage 12 years ago, even before a product was ready. The listing process typically spans several quarters once a company performs well against market comparables and the broader market window opens.
According to CNBC TV18, within the Indian context, the investment focus is expanding beyond the mainstay of financial services. The venture capital firm has recently started evaluating and backing startups in the emerging deep tech and defence tech sectors. This diversification strategy represents a shift from traditional financial services focus to include emerging technology sectors with high growth potential.
